Invariable Mark Of A Dream
by ShiandSaisei
Summary: Arthur had become too relaxed. He had let his guard down. People with a past like his shouldn't let their guards down. For when the barriers fall, prisoners escape. Set after the film.
1. Prologue

**The invariable mark of a dream is to see it come true.**

**- Ralph Waldo Emerson**

The beautiful blonde walked across the room with the utmost confidence. She was wearing a heavy silk red strapless dress that showed off her toned legs; legs that seemed to go on forever, an illusion aided by the six inch black satin shoes that she had donned. Her makeup was immaculate; her lips painted the exact shade of red to match her dress. Her baby blue eyes scanned the room before falling onto a raven haired man who was leaning against the bar, ignoring the bartender in favour of quite openly leering at the blonde beauty. The blonde smirked and continued her purposeful stride across to the man. Pressing her body flush against his, she placed her ruby lips next to his ear before whispering, "Did you see something you liked?" in the seductive tone one would imagine sirens of legends would use in order to get sailors to crash their vessels upon the rocks. It was dangerously seductive and the mark had been swiftly ensnared by use of such a tone.

"Hmm, Eames seems to have outdone himself this time. Mr Gregor has fallen for him hook, line and sinker." Ariadne stated, peering over her untouched drink at their mark being distracted by Eames disguised as the beautiful Sylvia; a honey trap created for the sole purpose of drawing the mark's attention away from the team's extractor Cobb; who was currently breaking into the proverbial safe of Mr Gregor's mind in order to obtain information pertaining to his future plans for business expansion. Information which would be later handed over to Mr Gregor's business rivals; for a substantial price of course.

"Yes, he does seem to be quite adept at seducing young business tycoons. I wonder what could be said regarding his character." Arthur replied. The duo was sitting on a stone grey corner sofa diagonally opposite from the bar. Arthur scowled lightly when peals of feminine laughter with an undertone of a deeper male laugh echoed throughout the classy cocktail bar that Ariadne had constructed. However, Arthur couldn't remain too focused upon Eames' actions. As the dreamer, he was on constant alert for any of Gregor's projections recognising his presence, or the presence of any of his colleagues, as being a foreign intrusion and attacking.

However, this was a simple extraction job. They were only one layer deep and, as of yet, nothing had gone wrong. Even if something was to go awry, a bullet in the head would be enough to prematurely wake someone up. As it was only a one layer job, there was no need for a heavy sedation and, therefore, the job came with no risk of dropping into limbo.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur noticed Dom entering the room and giving Arthur a brief nod. Arthur raised one of his eyebrows in a dignified form of speculation. Had Dom really already obtained the information? Arthur allowed himself a brief smile. He had forgotten how easy jobs could be when the subject had received no mental training and as such, had no defences against a master extractor such as Cobb.

Arthur watched as Cobb caught Eames' attention with the raise of a single hand. Eames, still in his guise as the flirtatious Sylvia, subtly nodded back. He tactfully removed himself from the embrace of their mark and sashayed towards where Ariadne and Arthur were situated. Cobb also swiftly moved across the room until they were all gathered round the plush corner sofa.

"So, that's it? We're already done?" Ariadne questioned, her forehead crinkled slightly in frustration which caused Eames to pull out his trademarked wide toothed grin; a grin that seemed out of place on the woman's face.

"Ah, sweetheart, are you already missing the excitement of achieving the impossible?" The voice was no longer the seductive sultry tone of Sylvia; but the deeper, rougher sound of Eames' true voice. With the completion of the job, Eames was slowly dropping his disguise. In fact, when Arthur next looked over in his direction, he was met with the sight of Eames. Unshaven Eames. Cocky and, at points, arrogant Eames. Eames with his eyes full of mirth. Eames with his ever present cocksure smirk.

The real Eames.

"Hmm, did you have to put her away so soon? Sylvia was much kinder upon the eyes." Arthur taunted, as was tradition.

"Come now darling, we all know that your dreams wouldn't be complete until I made some kind of appearance." Eames retorted with a lewd comment coupled with a term of endearment; continuing with the ritual.

"Alright children, can we get along until the timer runs out? We should have around ten minutes." Cobb interjected upon hearing the melodious tune of Edith Piaf's Non, Je Ne Regrette Rein. Arthur nodded whilst Eames simply grinned at the team's leader.

And that's when, as Eames would later say upon questioning, the shit hit the proverbial fan.

Arthur had become too relaxed. He had let his guard down. People with a past like his shouldn't let their guards down.

For when the barriers fall, prisoners escape.

**A/N Ah, I knew it wouldn't be long before I was forced to add something to the Inception fandom, and an Arthur/Eames fic at that!**

**Anyway, this is the prologue to an ongoing multi-chaptered fic, which will probably be 5-10 chapters long.**

**Please R&R, concrit will be extremely appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 1

Ariadne looked down as the amber liquid in her glass began to ripple and dance; as if the clear container was vibrating, dictating the liquid's pulsating movements. The soft tinkling sound of crystal hitting crystal as the ornate chandelier in the centre of the ceiling began to tremor in accordance to the same shockwave that was affecting the glass caught the attention of not only the remaining member of the team but also the projections of the mark's subconscious.

"Shit, they're noticing us!" Eames pointed out, referring to the occupants of Mr Gregor's mind who were currently staring avidly at the team but had thankfully, as of yet, not attacked.

"Hmm, eloquently put. Thank you for that observation Eames." Arthur responded curtly, his knuckles white due to the iron grip he held his own trembling glass in.

"Well, this is your dream darling, why don't you tell us why the hell it's falling apart at the seams?" Eames replied, his grin now absent from his unshaven face.

"I don't know. We should have been good for at least five more minutes. The only things I can think of that would cause instability like this only a layer deep are either a 'disturbance upstairs' or…" Arthur cut off here, his gaze vacant.

"Or what? Arthur, or what?" Ariadne questioned hurriedly, her panic evident in her clipped tone of voice.

"Or one of us brought our own subconscious in." Arthur continued before setting his glass down on the table in front of him with a soft clink. Ariadne gasped and inadvertently looked across at Cobb. "B-But, I thought that Mal had gone?" she asked hesitantly. Cobb looked almost offended at the accusation.

"I didn't bring Mal in here…Arthur, c'mon; you know I haven't brought her in since the Fischer job." Dom retorted quickly. Arthur nodded swiftly before standing, smoothing out the crease in his jacket as he did so.

"I never said it was Dom who brought something in." Arthur coolly stated before the calm was broken and the room was subjected to a barrage of heavy artillery fire.

"Bloody hell!" Eames yelled whilst ducking down and pulling Ariadne with him. "What the fuck is going on Arthur?"

"You finished the job, right Dom?" Arthur asked Dom in favour of ignoring Eames who had flung Ariadne ungracefully behind the sofa in an attempt to shield the young architect. Dom looked incredulously at Arthur from his crouched position behind the overturned table. In fact, Arthur was the only member of the team who had yet to try and protect themselves against the wave of ammunition. Instead he was standing in the centre of the frenzied panic Mr Gregor's projections were currently undergoing.

People were running around screaming whilst bullets sped through the air; causing destruction when they hit obstacles in their path. Often this obstacle would be one of Gregor's terrified projections and a spray of blood would burst into the air, staining the surrounding area in scarlet.

Arthur looked as if he were part of a silent tableau that had been placed in the midst of this frenzied chaos. He broke his statuesque pose by turning back to his three team mates; his eyes distant, his smile sad and gun cold in his hand.

"We finished it, right Dom?" Arthur asked again, as the bullets whizzing past them intensified and distinct sound of footsteps could be heard outside.

Eames groaned, "There's a fucking army growing out there."

Then, all too suddenly, the sofa was proved to be an inadequate safeguard as Ariadne let out a blood curdling scream. Arthur and Dom wasted no time in joining Eames at her side.

Arthur looked down towards her stomach where a dark patch of crimson had seeped through the fabric of her t-shirt. He leant down and whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry Ariadne." before holding the gun to her head and pulling the trigger.

"Jesus Christ Arthur, I thought you said that Gregor wasn't militarised." Eames yelled, Ariadne's blood splattered across his paisley shirt.

"He isn't" Arthur replied coolly before placing a bullet between Eames' eyes; dampening all emotion that threatened to burst forth with this action.

"Arthur what's going-" Cobb began but was cut off by Arthur's monotone voice.

"Tell me we finished the job, Dom."

Dom sighed, knowing he wouldn't get any answers whilst Arthur was like this, so he said, "Yes, we finished it Arthur." and received a bullet to the temple in response.

Arthur got up from his crouched position on the floor, straightened his tie and walked towards the double doors behind which an army was growing; absently noting that the gunfire had halted.

After picking his way through the multitude of fallen bodies, Arthur finally reached his destination. After taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he flung open the doors to reveal the one person he once wished he would never have to see again.

"Hello Arthur."

* * *

Ariadne awoke with a gasp. Actually no, that's a lie. People gasp when a ghost jumps out at them from behind a television screen, they gasp when someone they know approaches them from behind without warning. Ariadne inhaled such a large amount of air that she choked and ended up coughing and spluttering as if she had just been saved from drowning.

She will never get used to being shot. Even when it's one of her team mates pulling the trigger for the final shot…no, _especially_ when it's one of her team mates. Feeling in her coat pocket for the familiar weight of the chess piece that resided there, Ariadne took a moment to compose herself and steady her breathing.

When she had calmed her hysteria down to a more manageable level, Ariadne realised that there was someone speaking to her. Opening her eyes, Ariadne saw Yusuf crouched down by her side removing the line to the PASIV device, trying desperately to calm her so that she could tell him what's going on.

"Arthur…he brought something in, I got shot." Ariadne filled in, giving Yusuf a weak smile in thanks for his attempts at calming her. Yusuf patted her shoulder once before standing. He opened his mouth, no doubt to ask Ariadne questions pertaining as to whether the dream world was more realistic thanks to the combination of new chemicals he had introduced into the PASIV system, when a shout from across the room echoed throughout the warehouse.

"What the bloody hell was that about?" Eames yelled whilst pulling his own line out of his arm.

"You got shot as well?" Ariadne asked, discretely relinquishing her grip upon her totem.

"Tch, yeah. I guess Arthur just wanted me out of there, didn't even wait for me to be injured before placing a bullet between my eyes…efficient stick in the mud." Eames answered from his position in the lawn chair, having not yet deigned it time to stand.

The trio turned as their 'team leader' Cobb also awoke prematurely.

"Cobb, what happened? Why were we suddenly attacked?" Ariadne asked, her gaze wandering to Arthur's still prone form.

"I'm n-not entirely sure. I mean, I have _never _known Arthur to lose control like that. _**Never**_!" Cobb stammered in reply, his face portraying the iconic yet clichéd look of a deer caught in the headlights.

"Well there's no point in leaving him in there, is there?" Eames stated before striding across the room; his normally easy going gait now hurried, before he found himself next to Arthur's sleeping figure. In a solitary fluid movement, Eames pushed Arthur's chair over.

Eames had managed to practice this particular move on quite a regular occurrence. Whenever one of Yusuf's sedatives needed to be tested, Arthur went under and Eames performed the kick. However, all of those times had ended with Arthur kicking out his legs and regaining his balance upon awakening before turning to Eames with the same exasperated expression.

This time, however, ended with Arthur sprawled across the floor; his normal disgruntled expression replaced with one akin to fear.

"Arthur?" Eames hoarsely whispered. "Are you alright love?"

Arthur seemed to snap out of his terror filled trance and gracefully stood. His hands went to straighten his tie but they were shaking to such an extent that any semblance of neatness he had was swiftly diminishing.

"I j-just…give m-me a moment." Arthur whispered before making his awkward not-quite-a-run-but-too-rushed-for-a-walk escape to the bathroom.

Making sure he had bolted the door, Arthur slid down the opposite wall. He ended up sitting on the floor with his knees pressed up against his chest.

Absently Arthur congratulated himself for having the foresight of insisting upon an intensive regular cleaning routine. His suit may be creased beyond imagining but at least he wouldn't have to deal with any questionable stains.

Arthur steadied himself with a deep breath. "Ok, moment of truth.", he whispered to himself before pulling out his small red die from the inside pocket of his jacket.

Holding it tight in his clenched fist, Arthur brought it towards his lips and gently blew on it for luck before throwing it across the floor.

Four white spots stared up at him.

Arthur choked slightly on his half sob, half laugh born from relief as his totem revealed that this was the real world.

Grabbing the die, Arthur threw it again.

Four spots.

And again.

Four spots.

There was a moment when Arthur was sure it was going to land on a five, but it rolled and landed right side up.

Once more.

Four spots.

Just to make sure.

Four spots.

There's nothing wrong with being cautious.

Four spots.

It was getting harder to see the die through the film of tears covering his eyes, but he still threw it again.

Four spots.

And again.

This time the die had rolled under the sink and couldn't be seen right away. Arthur was putting off the moment when he would have to crawl over and retrieve it when three short knocks on the door created the prefect distraction.

"Darling, could you let me in? Please love, Arthur, let me in."

**Hey, sorry for being late but it's been rather hectic with sorting out accommodation for uni (I actually got in! Shock horror!)**

**Anyways, replies to reviews...**

**realityfling18-This pairing is made of complete and utter win! However, I intend to build te relationship gradually (hence the multi-chap fic...I just really can't do oneshots well) I saw the quote and immediately thought of Inception so I had to include it somewhere! Cobb is far too much of an interesting character to ignore. For similar reasons, Saito will turn up at some point as well :)**

**PrInCeSsFBi-Arthur/Eames is amazing! The UST can't be ignored!**

**Venice11-I'm glad you like my writing style, I like to think that I am improving so I like reading reviews like yours! I'll try to keep the suspense up so you stay on the edge of your seat throughout (just don't fall off XD)**

**darkdranzer-...It's not really like Cobb and Mal, there are connotations but it is different. However, the chapters so far have been vague regarding that point so I'm not going to detail it now...you'll just have to wait and see!**

**Sadie Woods-I know, I'm such a tease! Even this chapter is pretty vague! Don't worry though, all will be revealed!**

**azure-lupis-Thanks, hopefully it won't take as long to get the next chapter out as it took to do this one**

**Ishka-chan-wow, that was a glowing review! Thank you! And thanks for the con-crit. I must admit, I do find it really difficult to keep descriptions to a minimum, but I'll try to not go overboard with it.**

**-ChocoCookie-Hmm, I hadn't thought as to whether or not to bring Sylvia back. She may make another appearance further on in the fic.**

**RuByMoOn17-Glad you like it so far, I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner.**

**WalkingInDarkness717-Hmm, I wonder how many souls Arthur/Eames owns? They definitely have mine anyway! **

**anon-And it's continued! XD I'll try to be quicker with updates in future though!**

**astalder27-Actually that was one of my favourite lines as well! Although I did have some trouble thinking of what Eames would say in this chapter, I couldn't really keep him entirely in character :(**

**B-Elanna-Well here's one more chapter...more to follow soon!**

**Red Bess Rackham-I understand if you don't continue with this if you don't like the pairing...thanks for reviewing regardless (however, if you have stopped reading, you won't get my thanks...hmm)**

**JennMel-Well, here's more :) Some more will also follow!**

**meta scythe-Sorry, Arthur's skeleton in the closet is still under wraps (not for long though!) and yes, they will be mentions of whump because I am just that cruel!**

**Sarah- Umm, yes...just not right now! Look out for it in the next chapter.**

**QueenThirteen-Wow! Really? Thank you so much! I'll try to be faster updating in future.**

**Meeve-Well I do think the plot is paramount, whilst the pairing is just an added bonus, so if you're not a fan of Arthur/Eames...you might still find some enjoyment in reading this.**

**LaylaBinx-Thank you! I'll try to be faster updating in future.**

**tanya13-Thanks! The next chapters should be up quicker than this one, so I won't leave you hanging!**

**And thanks to everyone who put this on their alerts/favourites...much love!**

**So, till next time amigos!**


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